Ciroulak knitting machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

W. H. 8u G. D. MAYO.

CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

ATTORNEY (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

w. H. su G'. D. MAYO. GIRGULAR KNITTING MACHINE.

No. 4615358. Patented Oct. 13,1891.

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8 l V t W ea. Mayo.

UNITED STATI-3sPATENT` OFFICE.

Y VILLIAM H. MAYO AND GEORGE D. MAYO, FRANKLIN, NEV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNORST() THE SLLOVAY MILLS, OF SAME PLACE.

CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 461,358, dated October13, 1891. Application filed June 1'7, 1890. Serial No. 355,741. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, /VILLIAM H. MAYO vand GEORGE D. MAYO, citizens ofthe United States, and residents of Franklin, county of 5 Merrimac, andState of New Hampshire, have invented certain new and useful Improve! i'ments in CircularKnittingMachines,of which the following is aspecication.

Our invention, while relating to that class of knitting-machines whichemploys latchneedles and is made use of in the production of socks andstockings, has reference more particularly to that form of such machinein which the needles concerned in the formation of the heels and toes,in addition to the usual reciprocating movement impartedby O 3 theneedles to effect the knitting operation is accomplished by a V-shapedadvancing cam and suitable knitting or stitch cams arranged A onopposite sides thereof, and in which the 3 5 elevators anddepressors-called elevating and depressing cams, respectively,thereinare pivoted to the outside of the cam-cylinder, and,workingthrough slots formed in the walls thereof, are brought into operation atthe required times by suitable cam-levers under the control of anappropriate pattern mechanism, the needles made use of in the formationof the heels and toes being provided with heels or butts which aresomewhat shorter than those of the remaining needles, whereby to permitof these latter needles, in a body, being all raised out of operationand brought back into the same as the knitting of a at or tubularfabric, respectively, may be desired.

The construction and arrangement of parts this character, in which thereciprocation ofv ing heels or butts of dilerent lengths. 9-

thus described, while efficient in operation and desirable in someclasses of work, are found inconvenient in practice when aworktransferring mechanism is to be employed in connection therewith,principally because of the fact that as the V-shaped advancing camprojects some distance above the ledge upon which the needles normallyrest, with no provision made for lowering the same, the bringing of allthe needles to the same height at an elevation midway that to which theyare depressed when drawing the new loop through the old and thatoccupied by them when carried out of action in the narrowing operationis impossible.

Our present invention has for its objects, first, to obviate thisinconvenience and to provide means whereby the needles may all bebrought to the same height, which shall be substantially that occupiedyby them when in ltheir normal position; second, to provide cam mechanismfor reciprocating the needles, which shall be wholly located belowth'eelevators and depressors, and, third, to simplify the construction ofparts, and thereby render the machine more efficient in operation.

To these ends our invention consists in certain peculiarities ofconstruction and combination of parts, the distinguishingcharacteristics of which will be best understood by reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side elevation of aneedle-cylinder and a cam-cylinder constructed in accordance with ourinvention, the latch-opener being broken away for convenience ofillustration; Fig. 2, a plan of the cam-cylinder, taken in the plane xce of Fig. l; Fig. 3, a rear elevation of the'parts shown in Fig. l;Fig. 4, an elevation of the interior of the cam-cylinder developed on aplane, and Fig. 5 a sectional detail showing the needle elevating anddepressing switch and the needles hav- In all the figures like lettersare employed to designate corresponding parts.

A indicates the needle cylinder or bed, having the usual needle-groovesa for reception of the needles o cwhich are arranged therein, and Bindicates the cam-cylinder, surrounding -the same and provided on itsinterior IOO with a circumferential ledge 19, upon which the needlesrest when in their normal position, and also with a bevel-gear 19 at itslower end, by means of which it may be operated. Located in the interiorof the latter cylinder, above the ledge 19, are guide-plates 19-2 193,above and below which the heels of the needles are carried as they arerespectively retired from and brought back into operation, while to theoutside of said cylinder and working through slots 194, formed in thewalls thereof, are pivoted-the elevators-and depressors 195 196, bymeans of which the needles concerned in the narrowing and Wideningoperations are respectively carried out of or brought back into actionas one or theother of these operations is being effected. In theirnormal position these elevators and depressors rest with theirrespective free or hooked en ds 197 198 in line with the heels of theneedles in connection with which they are to co-operate, and whencarried out of operation by the elevation or depression of such needlesthey are engaged by latches C C, also pivoted to the outside of thecam-cylinder, and by them preventedfrorn re.- turning therein'to untilagain released by removing the latches from engagement therewith. At alltimes when the narrowing and widening operations are not being effectedthe elevators and depressors are held out of action, or in the. positionshown in Fig. 4, by the latches aforesaid; but when one or the other ofthese operationsis to be accomplished either the elevators or thedepressors, orboth, as the case may be, will be released from thelatches and allowed to return into action ready for engagement withtheir' appropriate needles as the cam cylinder is reciprocated in theoperation of the machine.

In all cases when the narrowing ofthe fabric is to be effected theelevators alone will be released from their latches and returned intooperation. On the other hand,when thewidening of the fabric is to beaccomplishefd the depressors will be released from their latches andsimilarly returned into action, the. elevators in some cases beingretired from operation when the depressors are brought into action andin others retained in operation therewith. Vhen the elevators areretiredfromoperation at the same time that the depressors are brought intoaction, the hooks 19S of the depressors will be made of the same lengthas the hooks 197 of the elevators, and each will at each reciprocationof the camcylinder engage the heel of but a single needle; but when boththe elevators and depressors are retained in action the hooks 198 willbe made of a length to engage theheels of two needles, while the hooks197 will be made of a length to engage the heel of buta single needle,whereby during the widening operation the depressors will at eachreciprocation of the cam-cylinder bring down into operation4 twoneedles, and the elevators at the next reciprocation thereof carry oneof the needles thus brought down out of operation, and soV on throughoutthe entire operation of widenin 0. l t

zlnthe drawings l have shown the hooks 198 of a length to engage theheels of two needles and the hooks 197 of a length to engage the heel ofbut a single needle; butit will be understood that such hooks 198 maybeso proportionedas to engage the heel'of but a single needle without inany way changing their essential characteristics.

To provide for releasing the elevators and depressors at the propertimes to effect the narrowing and wideningl operations, the latches C Care each equipped with a pin or studc, extending outward therefrom, withwhich suitably-arranged cam-surfaces under the control of Aanappropriate pattern mechanism co-operate.

The parts as thus far alluded to, with the needles, the cam-surfaces foracting upon the studs c, the pattern mechanism, and the de- Vices madeuse of for operating the cam-cylinder are or may be the same as thecorresponding parts shown and described in the application aforesaid, towhich reference may be had, and require no further elucidation herein.

Disposed in a suitable recess d, formed in the interior of thecam-cylinder, above the ledge 19, in proper relation to the guide-plates192 193, is the switch D, by means of which the long-heeled needles, orthose not concerned in the narrowing and widening operations, may in abody be retired from and, with such short-heeled needles as may havebeen likewise retired, returned into action Vat the will of theoperator. In our preferred form of construction this switch consists ofa suitable body having formed in its inner face a longitudinal grooved', which, cxtendin g throughout its entire length and taperinggradually from its outer to its inner end, has its under walls cut awayto such an extent as to permit of their engagement only with thelong-heeled needles, while its upper walls are extended inward towardtheneedle-cylinder sufficienti y far to engage not only with thelong-heeled needles, but with the short-heeled needles as well. As thusconstructed, this body is mounted upon the inner end of a shaft or pivotC12, that is fitted to oscillate in a sleeve d3, secured to the outersideA of the cam-cylinder, a milled or gnarled head C14, secured to theouter end of the pivot, affording a convenient means whereby it may beoperated. When it is desired to retire the long-heeled needles fromoperation, as when the bulged portion of a sock or stocking is to beknit, the switch will be turned downward until the Outer end of thegroove d is brought into line with' their heels as they rest upon theledge 19, in which position its under walls will, as the cam-cylinder isrotated, engage such heels alone and deflect them upward above theguide-plates 192 193, thereby carrying them with the respective needlesout of action. The long-heeled needles having been thus re- IIO ltubula'r portion of a sock or stocking is to be knit, by simply turningthe switch into the position shown in the drawings, when` the outer endof its groove will be brought into line with their heels as they restupon the upper side of theguide-plates aforesaid, and their deflectiontherefrom down upon the ledge b and into operation will be aecompli'shedby the upper walls thereof upon turning the cam-cylinder in the properdirection.

The means whereby the reciprocation ofthe needles to. effect theknitting operation is accomplished and provisionmade for bringing themall to thesame height at a point midway the limits of their movements isbest corners of the recess H upward and outward at the properinclination to said ledge, the result of which construction is to bringthe cam-surfaces as a whole not only below the ledge, but below theelevators and depressors as well, and permit of the rotation of the cam-;cylinder in either direction to effect the knitting operation.

As thus constructed, when the cam-cylinder is rotated the heels of theneedles d a2, when deected downward into the top of the recess H, willbe successively engaged by one or the other of the depressingcam-surfaces E, depending upon the direction in whichthe cam-cylinder isrotated, and caused to travel down' along the same until they pass itslower end, `when they will enter Vthe appropriate groove H and travel upthe elevating camsurface E' to the point of starting, where.

A they will remain until again depressed `or retired from operation inthe further movements of the machine, swinging gates m m, carried bypivots n 'n and kept normally closed by light coiled springs o 0,surrounding said pivots, preventing such heels from either dropping backor being carried downinto said grooves, while yielding to their actionin an opposite direction and permitting of their free upward movementtherein.

To provide for the deflection of the heels of the needles down into theupper end of the recess H, various means may be employed.v We prefer,however, to make use of a wedgeshaped del'leetor I, and to secure iteither pivotally or lixedly to a stop L, which, in addi.

tion to carrying a lug or gate Z, is 'made vertically adjustable in aguideway Z' by a handle or th-umb-piece Z2, working through a slot Z3,formed in the walls of the cam-cylinder, as

shown.

When it is desired to bring all the needles to the same elevation, whichshall be substantially that occupied by them when their heels rest uponthe ledge b, and retain them in that position without reciprocation-as,for

instance, when a work-transferring mechanism is to be applied inconnection therewiththe deflector and gate carried by its stock will beadjusted to the position shown by full lines in the drawings, inwhichsituation the vdeflector Will be elevated wholly above and out ofengagement with the heels of the needles and the upper end of therecess'H closed.

by the gate Z, which will be raisedinto the described the support forthe needles, embracing the ledge b and the gates Z and my, will bepractically continuous and unbroken throughout and the needles held.thereby from all downward movement. When, on the other hand, it-isdesired to reciprocate the needles to effect the knitting operation, thedeliector I and gate Z will be adjusted to the position shown by dottedlines in said drawings by simply moving down their supporting-stock L byits handle or thumb-piece Z2, by which operation the upper end of therecess H will be opened and the defiector brought down into engagementwith the heels of the needles, deflecting them downward into enadjustedpositions, we employ the lockingspring N, which, through theinstrumentality of the-bent portion p, engages With the handle orthumb-piece Z2, and while permitting of a vertical movement beingimparted thereto securely holds it. with the defiector and gate inveither of the positions to which they may be adjusted.

Located on the outside of the cam-cylinder are the several devices inwhich the elevators b5 and depressors b, with their co-operating latchesO,are respectively pivoted and the yarn-guide and latch-opener, with thelocking-spring N for the deflector I and its accompanying gate Z,properly supported. These several devices, instead of being madeseparate, as heretofore, are combined in groups and respectively make upthe stands O O, which are integral throughout and secured to the outsideof said cylinder by screws s s or otherwise. The stand O (see Fig. 3) isprovided with suitable ears or lianges 2i, to which the elevators b5 andtheir locking devices C are pivoted, and also with an upwardly-extendingarm u for Supporting the lockingspring N, the yarn-guide N', andassisting in the support of the latch-opener N2, which latter, in theconstruction shown in the drawi-ngs, is made in the form of a ring,while the stand O (see Fig. l) is similarly constructed and is likewiseequipped with eers or flanges t', in which the depressors h6 and theirco-operatingA latches C are pvoted, and with an upwardly-projecting armu for assist-ing in the support of the latch-opener, which in practicemay be hinged to the upper end thereof, as shown at'N3. l

By this construction, as willbe seen, sim plification of parts isaccomplished and a greater permanence of adjustment obtained than hasbeen possible heretofore. The parts composing each stand, being unitedintegrally-prevent any and all movement of the one-with respect to theother or others and thereby insure their constant maintenance in theiradjusted positions. Moreover, -the stands, being thus each composedotbut a single piece, permit oftheirbeing made interchangeable, and thereplacement of one by another on the machine, in case of breakage orotherwise, is not only greatly simplified, but brought within thecapabilities of the ordinary operative.

With'the cams for reciprocating the needles arranged Wholly below theledge h the needles during the regular knitting operation never riseabove the position they occupy when resting thereon, and in thisposition the yarn will be delivered to them just before their descent ata point slightly in advance ofthe upper end of the recess H in whicheverof the two directions the cam-cylinder may be rotated.

The construction of the machine and its mode of operation having beenthus set forth, the results and advantages flowing therefrom are obviousand will be readily understood without further comment.

In the foregoing we have described the best means contemplated by us forcarry'mg our invention into practice; but we wish it distinctlyunderstood that we do not limit ourselves strictly thereto, since it isobvious that the same may be modified in various ways without departingfrom the spirit thereofas, for instance, instead of employing therespective forms of yarn-guide and latch-opener shown and describedherein, I may substitute in place of them any of the well-known forms ofthese devices and still be within the scope of my invention.

Again, we have described our invention as applied to the machine shownand described in the application before referred to; but it is obviousthat the same may be applied in connection with any of the other-formsof circular-knitting machines in which latch-neeand in the drawings wehave illustrated a special form of defiector for co-operating with theneedles, whereby certain of them may be deflected upward from thecircumferential ledge v to the upper side of the guide-plates, or,resting upon such guide-plates, may be deflected downward therefrom tothe circumferential ledge, we make no claim herein, broadly, to adeflector or to the combination of such device with long and shortheeled needles and a camcylinder provided with both a circumferentialledge and guide-plates secured to its interior irrespective of theparticular form of the deflectOr, as such device and its combinationwith the parts mentioned,when broadly considered, are shown anddescribed in our earlier application,A to which reference has heretoforebeen made.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. The combination, with a cam-cylinder ciprocation, substantiallyvasdescribed.

2. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferentialledge in its interior and needle-operating cam-surfaces located belowsuch ledge, of a detlector for the needles, a stock to which suchdefiector is secured, and means for imparting to such stock and throughit to the defiector a vertical adjustment, whereby to bring suchdeflector into operation when it is desired to effect the reciprocationof the needles or to carryv it above and out of contact with them whentheir reciprocation is not required,sub stanti-ally as described.

3. The combinatiomwith the cam-cylinder provided with a circumferentialledge in its Yinterior and needle-operating cam-surfaces located belowsuch ledge, of a deflector, a gate, a stock to which such dellector andgate are secured, and mechanism for imparting to such stock and throughit to the deiiector and gate a Vertical adjustment, whereby to bring thedeector into operation when it is desired to effect the reciprocation ofthe needles or to carry it above and out of contact with them and bringthe gate into operation when it is desired to raise such needles all toIOO the same height andprevent their reciproca-Y' tion, substantially asdescribed.

4.v The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a verticalguideway and a vertical slot, of a stock carrying a detlector and gatearranged in said guideway, a handle or lthumb piece extendingvoutwardfrom the stock through such slot, and a locking-spring for engaging withthe handle or thumb-piece, substantially as described.

5. A cam-cylinder provided with a circumferential ledge in its interior,needle-operating cam-surfaces located wholly below such ledge, andelevators and depressors located entirely above the same, substantiallyas described.

6. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferentialledge b in its interior, and recess H, grooves H', and gates 'm m,located below such ledge, of the elevators and depressors b5bguideplates b2 b3, and dellector I, located entirely above said ledge,the stock to which such deflector is secured, and means for impartingtothe stock and through it to the deliector a vertical adj ustrnent,substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a cam-cylinder provided with a circumferentialledge in its interior and with guide-plates located above the same, ofneedles having heels or butts of different lengths, and a switchconsisting of a body provided in its face with a tapering groove, theunder walls of which arecut away to reduce their height, whereby thelonger heeled needles resting upon the ledge may be deflected upwardupon the guide-plates or, resting upon the guide-plates, both the longerand shorter heeled needles may be deliected downward upon the ledge,substantially as described.

S. The combination,witl1 the stand O, provided with the ears or flangest and with an upwardly-extending arm u, 'of the elevators and theirlatches pivoted in such flanges, and the locking spring, yarn-guide, andlatchopener supported uponl said arm, substantially as described.

9. The combination, with the stand O, provided with the fianges t andwith an upwardly-extending arm u', of the depressors and their latchespivoted in said iianges, and the latch-opener hinged to said arm,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands this v13th day ofJune, 1890.

WM. H. MAYO.

GEORGE D. MAYO.`

lVltnesses:

NAPOLEON B. HALE, J AMES E. BARNARD.

